Creativity is undoubtedly one of the most wanted and extremely useful soft skill.

It is an ability to be able to think out-of-the-box and provide a solution from a different and new perspective. Be it science, arts, commerce, or even any non-academic subjects, creativity is what is needed in all of them. Other than that, a creative person can utilize one’s full potential and they can easily resolve their internal conflict too. Most of the people think that creativity originates from a fluke, and it’s totally random and unpredictable. But in reality, creativity can be cultivated in our minds. In other words, we can be trained to be creative.

How do you identify a creative person?

There are some common traits in every creative person-

The first one is constant inputs- a creative person must be updated and willing to learn new information always. One’s learning must not be limited to their field only. In this era of fusion when “google tulip” is learning the communication process of the plants through technology, learning only about your domain will make you dull. Besides learning, you must be open to new ideas .You can take inspiration from anywhere- new books, daily lives or even people around you. You also have to learn mind-mapping. It is a process where you can visualise anything which is abstract in nature.

Curiosity is also a main thread of all creativity. It is the unanswered questions or unsatisfied answers that leads to innovations. What thrives a person the most towards creativity is passion. An intense love for a subject and a desire to excel makes our brain work more and find new ways to make ourselves better.

In the history of humanity, whoever you consider creative, has deep passion for their own working field. Passion makes a person cross the boundaries. Extreme curiosity is the inspiration to take major risks, to push yourself and struggle to cover that extra mile that nobody dared to do before.

A creative person never stops experimenting. The world may laugh at them, glare at their courage or cannot find the reason for such weird experiments- but they know that history only remembers success, not the bars behind it.

Feedback from others is also necessary for creativity, not sharing your creations with others and not knowing their opinions will not help to improve your skills much. Then again, relying too much on others may narrow your views too. So, you must be able to choose what is best for you. Taking moderate risks and learning to overcome any odd situation makes them confident, which shows up on their personality and this trait is considered to be crucial in today’s world.

How to cultivate and nurture creativity-

There are several ways one may try to boost their creativity-

1. You can exercise regularly to be creative by brainstorming regularly. Pick a topic seemingly impossible and try to find a solution to it. Challenge yourself on a regular basis.

2. You can work on your creative skills like music, drawing etc. Listening to music from childhood is very good for our brain development and research shows that learning to play a new instrument boosts our IQ level up by 7 points. Being acquainted with a brand new instrument and matching its note to play a known music is tough for our brain at first.

3. Research has been done to show the relation between our brain development and working out. After all, staying fit leaves a healthy effect on our brain too. Playing intellectual games like chess will also increase your creativity manifolds as it requires you to think something from different perspectives and consider many alternative ways.

4. You can try writing out a solution in paper with your hands. Writing with hands is relatively time consuming which enables you to think more creatively. Daydreaming can give you this opportunity too. You can also try self talk while penning down new ideas. You can even make a dream diary to analyse what is going on in your subconscious mind.

5. Only being engaged with work will dull your brain, so do not forget to take regular breaks. Unplugging from your daily work and taking a stroll outside or even socialising with new people are proven ways to ideate new thoughts.

6. Yoga is another well known way to rewire your brain and make it open for new thoughts.

The other side of the coin-

In the end, being creative does not have a destiny. It is a continuous process that we have to continue throughout our whole lives. Besides all the perks of creativity, it also has some major setbacks. If you are a person who are weak to handle peer pressure, being too creative may be stressful for you. You have to accept that you are not going to go with the flow now as you have a whole new style of thinking which will not be the same for others.

Disclaimer: The facts & opinions of this post are written by the author in his personal capacity. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Edukeeda and Edukeeda does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.